First Easter

The very first Easter was not in a crowded worship space with singing and praising. On the very first Easter, the disciples were locked in their house. It was dangerous for them to come out. They were afraid. They were living in a time of such despair and such fear. If they left their homes their lives and the lives of their loved ones might be at risk.

Alone in their homes, they dared to believe that the long night-mere would soon be over and that God’s spirit was steadily and powerfully rising up within themselves, even though it didn’t seem quite real yet. Eventually, they were able to leave their homes. When the fear and danger had subsided, they went forth celebrating and spreading the Good News that Jesus was RISEN and love was the most powerful force on the earth.

This year, our experience is close to what that First Easter was like — still in our homes daring to believe that liberation is on the horizon. Eventually, when it is safe for all people when it is the most loving choice, we will come out, gathering together, singing and shouting the Good News that God brings life even out of death, that love holds the power needed to bind us together, countering the forces of fear and separation!

This year we might get the closest taste we have had yet to what that first Easter was like.